BCS Standings 2012: Who Will Rise and Who Will Fall in Week 9?

The first BCS Top 25 was revealed earlier this week, but as it is with every first set of rankings, it's far from being a finished product.

After Alabama, the next four teams are separated by a minuscule amount of points. South Carolina, Oregon State and Oklahoma are all neck-in-neck at the back end of the Top 10. Even the races for the Top 15 and Top 20 are still impossible to predict.

In short, expect a lot of change in the coming weeks.

Let's take a look at who's most likely to rise and who's most likely to fall in the next set of rankings.

Note: You can find the complete Top 25 at the bottom of the page.

Rise: Texas Tech Red Raiders (No. 17)

This isn't your Texas Tech team of old.

OK, well it kind of is. Led by Seth Doege, Tommy Tuberville's squad is still elite through the air. They are third in the country in passing yards per game (378.6) and 12th in points per game (40.7).

But surprise! The Red Raiders also play defense.

Not only are they 23rd in the nation in scoring defense (18.4 points per game allowed) and seventh in yards allowed per game (274.8), but they just shut down Geno Smith and West Virginia, which boasted one of the nation's scariest offenses.

Texas Tech is suddenly a very balanced team, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Red Raiders go into Fort Worth and steal a win from No. 23 TCU, which is 1-1 without without Casey Pachall.

Rise: Texas A&M Aggies (No. 18)

I can assure you that having another Texas school on this list wasn't planned.

Nonetheless, the Aggies host an always-dangerous LSU squad this week in what will be a battle of complete opposites.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel is no joke, and neither are his 2,356 combined yards and 24 combined touchdowns (!!). The youngster has led his school to the sixth-ranked offense in the country in terms of points and third-best in terms of yards.

LSU, meanwhile, has had trouble moving the ball with Zach Mettenberger, but is elite (and also scary) on the defensive side of the ball.

Normally I wouldn't trust a freshman against a stout defense like LSU's, but with Texas A&M at home and Manziel not really acting like a freshman, I'm going with the upset.

Fall: Florida Gators (No. 2)

It's hard to go against all of Florida's immense talent, especially at home, but it's also hard to go against what will be a fired-up South Carolina squad following a crushing two-point loss in Death Valley.

Additionally, with both defenses being, well, typical SEC defenses, there's a very good chance this one will come down to the wire.

Even if Florida comes out on top, it will likely be decided by less than a touchdown, and if Oregon does to the 5-1 Arizona State Sun Devils on the road what it has done to the rest of the Pac-12 or if Kansas State wins at No. 13 West Virginia, the Gators would easily fall a spot or two.

Fall: Stanford Cardinal (No. 20)

Stanford isn't really elite at any one aspect of the game, but it isn't awful at anything, either.

I guess that's why it makes sense that, with the exception of a blowout win over Duke, the Cardinal have seen every one of their games decided by a touchdown or less.

Cal certainly isn't setting the world on fire, either, but it's hard to imagine the Zach Maynard–Keenan Allen combo not having a big day at home against a Cardinal defense that is 103rd in the nation in passing yards allowed per game.

This could be the last you see of Stanford in the Top 25. Well, for a week at least.